This post is inspired from an edutopia article entitled, 'The Role of Video Games in the English Classroom.' At first I was skeptical at the topic, the English classroom was the last place I was expecting video games to be proposed. I've seen computer games for science and math courses, but I never considered their value in an English class. Overall, the article did discussed how video games can be viewed to look at various parts of speech. They particularly mentioned showing clips/using games with different tones to emphasize what tone is and how it is applied in different circumstances.
I see the general idea behind the article. The standard, use what the students already enjoy and equate it to learning. I've had some teachers use clips of games/movies to emphasize points, but they were few and far between. However, I think this article comes up short. They discuss using the games a learning tools, but all the games they mention are main franchise games that require significant time and effort. They even mention skyrim as an inspirational game, allowing students to develop their character and choose their own path, but, as they mention, the game takes dozens (or even hundreds) of hours to complete.
I do see the point that certain topics, such as tone, are more easily recognizable when heard. Though I think movies would be a better fit than video games. I also recognize the appeal that video games can have to the student population. However, I still do not see a valid use for these types of games in the English classroom.
Another point against games is the audience it hopes to reach. Though they may appeal to certain students, particularly the young males, other students may find the games crude, un-enjoyable, and lacking purpose. It would allow for a group of students to be reached in a new manner, but it could completely alienate others. I do think that English classrooms can have a modern input from movies, games and media. Though the focus of these particular classes is often based on the great authors of centuries past and that is unlikely to change. These games will come and go, but will they stand the test of time, perhaps. But one thing we do know is that the classics from Shakespeare, Orwell, Dickens and others have already stood this test as masters of literature and language. We should act very conservatively when we consider to introduce new ideas, less we may inadvertently replace the tried and true classics with modern works that teach improper and temporal language.
I agree with your comment of possibly alienating certain students with the use of video games. Although popular to many, they can be, as you said, seen as crude and un-enjoyable to others. I think this is definitely one tool of education that needs to be carefully implemented (if at all) and not forced as it could be. It would be senseless to replace the classic works of literature, like you were saying, with modern works that fail to teach important aspects of not only English, but other areas of curriculum. Overall, I thought your article was well thought out and covered some controversial aspects of this technology. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that it would be difficult to incorporate video games in a successful manner for English lessons in the classroom, and that it would seem to be more logical to use this type of technology for science or math. However if someone was able to come up with a video game for a subject such as English that was proven to work, I think that it would be an awesome idea. Although I don't think that video games should be the main source of learning for any subject, if it is something that is proven to work and you use it once every couple of weeks as a kind of reward for your students hard work, I think that that would prevent students from getting tired of the game from over use and could really benefit them in their learning.
ReplyDeleteI do think that games can be a very helpful way of teaching in the classroom. However, if a student fails at that game it may make them not interested in that learning. In my practicum, I was playing a game with the students I had for a small group. One student wasn't doing as well as the other students. This then made him get down on himself and not want to lay anymore. If you do implement games into your classroom, you should make sure that you state that this isn't a competition and that it is just a way of helping them learn in a different way.
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